Modi’s three-nation tour of Canada, France and Germany to focus on Make in India

NARENDRA Modi will arrive in Canada on Tuesday (April 14). This will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Canada since 1973.

Besides discussions on boosting energy and economic cooperation, Modi will interact with the large Indian community in Canada, said Special Secretary for the Americas R. Swaminathan in New Delhi this week.
Modi will visit Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto during the Canada trip.
On April 14, he will be in Ottawa and on April 15, he will be accorded a ceremonial welcome after which he will meet Canadian Governor General David Johnston. He will also meet Prime Minister Stephen Harper over a working lunch.
Modi will then move to Toronto in the evening and attend an event with the diaspora at the Ricoh Coliseum and later attend a reception by Harper.
On April 16, both sides will hold a meeting with the Canadian Pension Fund for investment.
In Vancouver, on April 16, Modi is to visit Khalsa Diwan Society’s Ross Street Gurdwara and then the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Surrey. He will leave for home that night.

MODI met French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday.

During the course of the talks, the French president expressed shock at the release of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi from a Pakistani jail.
“Release on bail of terrorist accused of heinous crime of Mumbai terrorist attack is deeply shocking- [email protected],” Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman of India’s external affairs ministry, tweeted.
Modi arrived in France on Thursday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also take him to Germany and Canada.
After the talks between the two leaders, a number of agreements are set to be inked between the two countries.
The two leaders will go on a boat ride on the Seine river, for a “nav pe charcha” (chat on a boat). Modi will also attend a banquet hosted in his honour by Hollande.

EARLIER this week, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar at a media briefing said that all three countries Modi is visiting are G-7 industrialised democracies.

Modi earlier said that his eight-day visit abroad was focused on supporting India’s national economic agenda, especially job creation for the youth.

In France, Modi was scheduled to hold two back-to-back round-tables with top French CEOs – one focused on infrastructure and the other on defence technology.

“Infrastructure is high priority for the government, and the French companies have expertise and capability. Defence and nuclear energy are also important facets,” Jaishankar said, adding that the cooperation will focus on the Make in India initiative of the government.
Modi was to visit the UNESCO headquarters and later attend a lunch at the French National Assembly.
On April 11, the prime minister visits Toulouse, in southern France, where he will go to the Airbus facility and discuss ways of further cooperation, including in transfer of technology and investments.
He will also visit the French space agency CNES.
Modi will drive down to Lille to visit the Neuve Chapelle war memorial to pay homage to the 10,000 Indian soldiers who were killed during World War I, the foreign secretary added.
He will then return to Paris and attend a reception by the Indian community and also meet former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
On April 12, the prime minister will fly to Hannover in Germany to attend the Hannover Messe fair that has India as the partner country.
According to Jaishankar, the Hannover Messe fair authorities have given the Indian side a large exhibition area – 7,000 square metres as well as 1,200 square metres in the central park.
Around 400 Indian firms are participating in the fair, the world’s largest industrial fair, while 120 Indian CEOs would be there, he said. Some 3,000 German business delegates would attend the fair.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm for the Make in India initiative and the potentialities in India among the foreign participants,” Jaishankar said.
Modi would then unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the City Hall in Hannover.
Later, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Modi will attend the fair opening in the evening.
On April 13, the two leaders are to jointly inaugurate the Indian pavilion at the fair and go around the fair and also inaugurate an India-German business summit.
Modi will leave for Berlin where he will attend a science and technology academy.
He will also visit a German railway station, where he will get a view of the railway modernisation.– IANS reports

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